[Aaron]

I had great success with ESI in thoracic area, but not until discogram done and showed tear at level above herniation was also pain gen. Was it coincidence that the first couple I had only at herniation level did nothing and I got immediate relief from ESI done at herniation level and around tear, cant answer but my opinion is no, medicine got to tear which may have bee causing more pain than herniation.
I would suggest looking into non-fusion option also. Once fused thats it, but could try min. invasive then have fusion if that not success. Look into Dr. Richard Fessler ( TMED ) surgury. That is what I will be having if the thoracic issue ever gets that bad again. But all my time spent on new lumbar/cervical issues, one step forward two back. This was stolen from another site but just about describes what I think occured. I was waking with no pain and immediatly on movement started feeling a tearing, stabbing feeling. that progressed as day passed.

"Chemical radiculitis” is important in the generation of back pain. A primary focus of surgery is to remove mechanical compression on a nerve or the spinal cord. Back, neck, leg and arm pain, rather than being solely due to compression, may also be due to chemical inflammation. This may cause the nerve root to adhere to the canal, leading to nerve root traction with movement. The "hydraulic effect" of a fluid being placed directly within the adherent tissue causes the tissue to separate and allows the nerve to slide in it's channel more easily. For these reasons, epidural steroid injections often result in substantial pain relief, reduction of scar tissue, and return to functional activity. An advanced form of epidural, the transforaminal epidural or nerve root injection, provides the components of the "hydraulic effect" to separate the adherent tissue, proximity to the irritated nerve root and disk tear, and an anti-inflammatory delivered directly to the nerve, all helpful benefits resulting in pronounced and lasting effects in many patients.
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